Local Author

A Confluence of Rivers: Manning author shares story of 2014 book

Posted

Before moving to Manning some six years ago, Tom Honea finished a more than 5 year passion project. A project that is now known as “A Confluence of Rivers.” Honea never knew that he would be an author until he was, and now he is planning his second, and maybe third, book.

Taking place in rural Mississippi, A Confluence of Rivers follows the intertwined stories of several citizens of Ashe County. 

“If there is one literary piece you read this year, make it this book,” reads the synopsis. “It is about people, people who had no choice where they are born, they simply were born in the south. They lived there, loved there, and died there.”

According to Honea, he got the idea for the project in his car one day. 

“I was riding along, and this line hit me: ‘Wiley Jennings catches the milk truck into town,’” said Honea. “It was up to me to decide why he was even going in to town, and why he caught the milk truck.”

This single line would be the foundation upon which Honea would write his book. Why he bought the milk truck into town? To confess that he had killed Marcus Junior. 

The book then follows the character of Wiley Jennings and his family as they deal with the drama that ensues. 

Wiley has autism in the book, and Honea was inspired to write this character by a nameless childhood friend.

“Nobody in this fictional town wanted Wiley to go to prison, including the prosecution,” said Honea. “And that was kind of the groundwork for the story.”

Another major plot line in the book follows Wiley Jennings brother, Warren. Honea describes Warren as the fictitious would-be that could have pioneered the Texas Swing genre of music. However, the almost famous brother has to set down his guitar and come to his brothers aid. The entirety of all the various plot lines in the book come to a head at the trial, when all is revealed, according to Honea. 

As for additional projects, Honea is working steadfastly on a new book that follows a young couple in Isle of Palms right after World War II, as well as another set at a naval base.

For more information, or to purchase “A Confluence of Rivers,” visit https://www.amazon.com/Tom-Honea/. 

About the Author

“Tom Honea is a true son of the Deep South. He grew up in the 1950s on a working dairy farm in Magnolia, Mississippi. There were no paved roads or telephones, but there were storytellers a-plenty, on front porches in the summer and around the fireplace in winter. College and a stint in the U.S. Marine Corps followed, as did a number of years as a football coach and teacher in Florida, North Carolina and Memphis. A Confluence of Rivers is his first published work, although he has completed a novel and is deep into a second work set in the Isle of Palms, South Carolina region during World War II. He is currently working with Manning High School, and serves in various athletic capacities.